Introduction

Equality in the workplace ensure that an individual or group of people are treated equally and fairly, specific to their needs. Promotion of equality helps to remove discrimination in context of race, disability, gender, religion or beliefs, age and sexual orientation. In addition to this, diversity aim to respect, recognize and value the differences of people in order to relies on their potential by promoting a wide-ranging culture for all employees (Churchman and Thompson, 2008). In this regard, this report is prepared to analyze the legal requirement regarding equality within Sainsbury and the codes of practices within retail industry. Sainsbury have more than 154,000 colleagues from different cultures, background, religions and ethnicities. Here in the report policies and procedures that are requires to promote equality and diversity, needs and expectations of stakeholders and methods for communication of procedures to relevant stakeholder of company are discussed.

Equality in the workplace ensure that an individual or group of people are treated equally and fairly, specific to their needs. Promotion of equality helps to remove discrimination in context of race, disability, gender, religion or beliefs, age and sexual orientation. In addition to this, diversity aim to respect, recognize and value the differences of people in order to relies on their potential by promoting a wide-ranging culture for all employees (Churchman and Thompson, 2008). In this regard, this report is prepared to analyze the legal requirement regarding equality within Sainsbury and the codes of practices within retail industry. Sainsbury have more than 154,000 colleagues from different cultures, background, religions and ethnicities. Here in the report policies and procedures that are requires to promote equality and diversity, needs and expectations of stakeholders and methods for communication of procedures to relevant stakeholder of company are discussed.

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TASK 1

Legal requirement relating to equality

There are laws and regulations developed by government of UK in context of equality and diversity at workplace that needs to be applied by Sainsbury. These laws are developed to protect interest of stakeholders with company. The Equality Act 2010 was formulated to protect individuals from inequitable treatment and encourage fair and equitable society. This act stands for equality of race, gender, disability, religion or beliefs, sexual orientation and age (Gaine, 2010). The Race Relations Act 1976 was developed to remove discrimination on ground of race, color, ethnic or nationality and the act was amended in 2000.

The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 was established to eliminate discrimination on the basis of sex or marriage and it was amended in 2003. In addition to this Equal Pay Act 1970 states that an individual has a right to the same contractual benefits and pay as a person of differing sex in the similar employment (Hogan, 2012). Further Disability Discrimination Act 1995 deals with unfairness against disable persons. It is applied to all those who provide facilities, goods and services to the public. The Human Rights Act 1998 was formulated under the European Convention into domestic law. This law states that organizations should respect the fundamental human rights of people.

The Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003 was developed to remove discrimination on ground of individual religion or belief. The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 was established by government to provide equal opportunity to all people and to protect interest of employees within the organization. In addition to this, the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 deals with direct or indirect discrimination, victimization and harassment (An overview of equality and diversity legislation, n.d). There are different laws relating to equality which needs to be applied by Sainsbury within the workplace as it will helps them to develop healthy relationship with stakeholders and to gain their commitment.

Implications of guidance and codes of practices

There are various codes of practices regarding equality and diversity that are implemented in retail industry and these are as follows:

Freedom of association: People have the right to join and organize association of their own choice. The Human Right Act 1998 was formulated to provide freedom in selection of organization (Code of Practice, 2011).

Wages and benefits: The wage and benefits of employee should meet their basic needs. The Equal Pay Act 1970 take place in this regard which states that equal wages should be provided to each person of the opposite sex in the similar employment. The pay of employees must exceed or equal as required by law.

No forced labor-employment is freely chosen: The code of practices also involved this element which states that labor should not be forced. No worker should be forced to work in the organization through intimidation, financial pressure or any other reason. People should be free to work in any company (Starkey, 2007).

Health and safety: Organizations in retail industry are required to provide healthy and safe work environment. They are required to constantly work towards avoiding misfortune and to maintain safety as well as welfare of their staff. Organization should consider equality and avoid discrimination for health and safety of workers in retail industry.

Hours of work: The working hours of employees within the organization should not exceed 48 hours per week. Company must comply with national laws in order to provide protection to workers. There needs to be equality for all employees in context of working hours (Metcalfe and Afanassieva, 2005).

Employee communication and workers treatment: Employees in the company must be treated with dignity, respect and the workplace should be free from abuse, harassment and degrading treatment. Organization requires to equally communicate the information among employees about their policies and procedures.

Equal opportunities: Companies in retail industry are required to provide equal opportunities to their staff for growth and development (Harrisr and Foster, 2010).

Implications of equality and diversity at Sainsbury

Sainsbury is highly dedicated to provide an environment of working in which all employees are respected, valued and get equal opportunity to fulfill their ambitions. Organization developed equality and diversity policy which aims to ensures that talents of their staff are used to the full extent and to avoid discrimination at the workplace. They are working to encourage more women's to work in their store by providing flexible working hours so as to make their job less disruptive. Organization move towards extended working hours and introduced a number of initiatives that enables employees to balance their home and work life in effective manner (Corporate Social Responsibility, 2004).

Sainsbury communicates their equality and diversity policy to all their colleagues during their induction training program. In addition to this, company provides written guidance for managers regarding equal opportunities that involve employment of disable people and meeting the expectations of these customers. They are also going to launch their diversity website that will involve new guide on belief and faith in the workplace that will help employees to understand different religion. The job interview and training guidelines of Sainsbury covers equal opportunities (Woodruffe-Burton and Bairstow, 2013). They pay to all of their employees on competitive rates for their job. The adult pay rates of company are in excess of the minimum wages set from the outset of employment.

Sainsbury provides equal opportunities to their employees so that they give a voice in the business and identify their views. The new Diversity Champion program launched by organization that involve 140 of their managers. The roles of managers is to collect feedback on diversity that helps them to shape programs and helps to improve issues related with diversity. Organization developed equality and diversity policy that provide equal opportunities to all employees to fulfill their ambitions and they eliminate all sort of discrimination at workplace (Ozbilgin, 2009).

Policies and procedures to promote equality and diversity

Organization can develop various policies in order to promote equality and diversity at workplace. They can create inclusive culture for all staff as it will help to motivate them and will encourage them for higher level of performance. In addition to this, company can develop policy in context of equality and diversity in which they can ensure equal access to opportunities to fulfill their ambitions (Harrisr and Foster, 2010). Further, they can also develop a committee which will handle all issues regarding equality and diversity so as to effectively deal with situations.

Company can involve laws and regulations into their policies so as to provide promote equality and diversity at workplace. This will helps them to gain loyalty of staff and motivate them to work hard for attainment of desired objectives. In addition to this, organization can recruit people from different culture in order to promote equality (Bennett, 2009). Further they can eliminate all sort of discrimination such as age, sex, disability, religion etc. at their workplace which will encourage people to actively participate in functioning of company and will improve performance of firm.

Needs and expectations of stakeholders

The stakeholders of Sainsbury are customers, suppliers, community, employees and government. They play a significant role in the progress of organization and therefore company is also requires to fulfill their needs. Stakeholders have different expectations from Sainsbury in context of equality and diversity policy. The employees of organization expect that they should get fair treatment at workplace. They want that company should provide equal opportunities to fulfill their ambitions and also provide fair wages for their work (Greene and Kirton, 2010).

In addition to this, workers expect that firm provide healthy and safe work environment and also provide flexible working hours so that they can manage their home and work life in effective manner. Further employees expect that company should respect their rights, values, culture, belief and religion. They also want that company should conduct effective training and development program for their manager regarding equality and diversity at workplace. Employees also expect that organization should provide equal opportunities to raise their voice so that they can give their innovative and creative ideas that can be use by company (Armstrong, Masterton and Potts, 2013). This will help them to motivate staff and will encourage them for higher level of performance.

Government have expectation that organization should follow all laws and regulations in their policies that are developed in context of equality and diversity. This will help to provide friendly and healthy work environment as well as protect interest of employees at workplace. In addition to this, Community also have different needs and expectations from Sainsbury. They expect that organization should provide equal employment opportunities to all people (Johnston and Kyriacou, 2011). Company should avoid discrimination on ground of gender, race, age, disability, culture or religion. In addition to this, customers also expect that organization should promote equality and diversity at their stores and offer variety of products to public.

TASK 2

Methods to address equality and diversity issues within organization

There are different methods that can be use by organization in order to address equality and diversity issues. Company can conduct sessions in which they can identify ideas of different people that can be use to overcome issues prevailing in the firm. Sainsbury can provide training to senior manager regarding equality and diversity so that they can effectively deal with these sort of issues within company and can provide friendly work environment to their employees. They can develop effectively policies that will provide equal opportunities to all staff for personal development and fulfillment their ambitions (Senyucel and Phillpott, 2011). In addition to this, organization can develop inclusive culture that will be accepted by all employees. This will helps to remove discrimination on the basis of religion and beliefs and will motivate staff towards higher level of performance.

Company can involve all legislation develop by government regarding equality and diversity into their policies and procedures. Organization can use participative leadership and can involve their employees in decision making process. It will encourage staff and will provide job satisfaction to them. They can foster good relations between people from different groups and can eliminate any sort of harassment and victimization at workplace (Groschl, 2012). Company can timely monitor their equality and diversity policy in order to make sure that it covers all areas of unlawful discrimination and provide equal opportunities to all employees.

Ways to gain commitment to equality and diversity

There are different ways that can be use by organization in order to gain commitment of stakeholders to equality and diversity. Sainsbury can take suggestions from all employees in formation of policies and procedures in context of equality and diversity. They can also conduct meetings and seminars with stakeholders in which they can take their ideas which will helps to gain their commitment. Company can also provides equal opportunities to their staff at the time of recruitment and can remove discrimination on ground of age, gender, culture and disability. Organization can respect the values, beliefs and rights of their staff in order to gain their commitment (Soeters and Meulen, 2007).

In addition to this, Sainsbury can implement all laws developed by government regarding equality and diversity. This will helps to gain commitment of regulatory bodies as well as employees of firm. Further company can create eco friendly environment in which discrimination on ground of culture will be restricted. Inclusive culture can also develop by organization in order to promote equality and diversity at workplace and to gain commitment of staff. In addition to this, Sainsbury can terminate those employees that discriminating other staff on the basis of gender, religion and disability (Elmuti, 2001). This will help to motivate workers and to gain their loyalty which results in higher level of performance.

Company can start performing different welfare schemes in order to promote values, beliefs, culture, religion and other aspects of community in order to gain their commitment. Management of organization can create sense of belongingness among staff and can also develop participative work environment. Hence these are different ways that can be use by Sainsbury in order to gain commitment of stakeholders in context of equality and diversity (Tatli, 2006).

Methods of communicating commitment, policies and procedures

Communication is the process of exchange of information, ideas and suggestion from one person to another. Organization require to communicate policies and procedures to relevant stakeholders as it is essential to gain their commitment and to effectively survive into competitive business environment. Stakeholders are the important part of organization and therefore company requires to include them in decision making process (Loosemore and et.al. 2011). There are different methods that can be use by Sainsbury for communication of commitment, policies and procedures. Some of them are enumerated below:

Meetings: Sainsbury can conduct meetings with their stakeholders in order to communicate policies and procedures regarding equality and diversity policies. In this method company can collect feedback from stakeholders as it will help them to improve their policies.

Conferences: It is also one of the best technique to communicate with stakeholders about strategies and procedures. Organization can arrange conference at a particular time period and can collect feedback from stakeholders on their policies. This will assist in formation of effective policy and also helps to gain commitment of stakeholders (Colgan and et.al. 2007).

Interactive sessions: Organization can start interactive sessions with their employees in which they can discuss their policies regarding equality and diversity with them. This will assist them to gain ideas of staff about promotion of equality at the workplace and will helps to gain their loyalty.

Internet: This method can also be use to communicate with stakeholders. Sainsbury can send email about policies and commitment about equality and diversity. It is the direct form of communication. In addition to this, social media and website of company can also use for communication (Sweetman, 2004).

Ways to reach diverse stakeholder groups

It is essential to reach different stakeholders as they have interest within the company. It is required to gain their loyalty and successfully carry out business operations. There are different ways those can be apply by Sainsbury in their functioning in order to reach different stakeholders. Company can design workshops in which they can involve customers, employees, legal authorities, suppliers and community in order to communicate information about policies of company regarding equality and diversity and to gain their suggestions in order to improve their policies (Malik, Barnard and Kar, 2014). In addition to this company can use full range of media such as television, magazines, newspaper in order to reach stakeholders and to communicate them.

They can use posters as well as newsletters in order to provide information to their stakeholders about policies and procedures of company. Organization can also use some informal methods to reach employees, communities, customers and government. They can conduct supporting events such as tennis, golf etc. in order to communicate with them and to gain their ideas regarding equality and diversity and build support of stakeholders (Hogan, 2012). Company can use voice mail and invitation letters to provide information about commitments and procedures regarding diversity and equality to their stakeholders. Exhibitions can also be use for communication of information. Hence these are different ways that can be use by Sainsbury in order to reach their stakeholders.

Methods used to review and monitor equality and diversity

It is essential to review or monitor the equality and diversity policy as it will helps to identify drawbacks in existing policy will helps to cover all areas in this regard as well as to develop effective policy. There are different methods that can be use by organization in order to review equality and diversity (Metcalfe and Afanassieva, 2005). They can conduct training and workshops in which they employees can express their views about the responses of managers regarding equality and diversity.

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Organization can set standards for monitoring of their policies in which they can compare the actual procedures with those standards. It will helps them to identify drawbacks in their policies and will provide directions that can be use to improve equality and diversity at workplace in order to provide satisfaction to employees (Starkey, 2007). In addition to this, organization can conduct meeting with employees and other stakeholders and can collect their feedback regarding their policies. This will helps them to identify the areas which they needs to cover in equality and diversity as well as helps to remove discrimination at workplace.

Monitoring can be done through staff survey in which feedback from employees can be collected. This will helps to gain ideas of workers and also assist to improve them. Hence organization can use these different methods for review and monitoring of policies as it will help company to develop effective policies which leads to higher level of performance (Johnston and Kyriacou, 2011). This will motivate employees and will encourage them to work hard for attainment of desired objectives.

CONCLUSION

There are various laws and regulations developed by government in context of equality and diversity in order to protect interest of people at workplace. Sainsbury provide flexible working hours, equal opportunities for all employees to fulfill their ambitions and also provide equal pay. There are different techniques that can be use by company to address equality and diversity issues. Further, organization can use different methods for communication of information and to reach their stakeholders.

REFRENCES

Armstrong, F., Masterton, M. and Potts, P., 2013. Equality and Diversity in Education 2: National and International Contexts for Practice and Research. Routledge

Bennett, T., 2009. New ways of promoting equality and diversity in the workplace: The role of the union equality representative. Equal Opportunities International. 28(5). pp.443 - 447.

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